1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to exterior mirror assemblies for vehicles that are movable between operable and retracted positions.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicle exterior mirror assemblies that can manually or automatically move between operable and retracted positions are well known to those skilled in the art. Often the prior art mirror assemblies include a base and a pivotal housing with a preloaded spring mechanism disposed between the base and the housing. The spring mechanism holds the assembly together and maintains the stability and integrity of the assembly. The spring mechanism also biases the housing to the operable position. A pair of detents are typically provided between the base and the housing to define the operable position and to provide a level of resistance when the housing moves from the operable position to the retracted position. Examples of these prior art mirror assemblies are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,186,905; 5,332,186; 5,432,640; and 5,678,945. The prior art mirror assemblies have a tendency to translate vibration of the vehicle into the mirror glass, which in turn vibrates the glass. Also, noise can transmit through the spring mechanism into the vehicle.
Other prior art mirror assemblies have attempted to overcome the vibrational and noise issues by incorporating some type of insulator into the assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,181 and 5,005,797 incorporate elastomeric insulators between the base and the housing, with or without spring mechanisms, to isolate any vibration and/or noise.
Although the prior art has attempted to address a number of issues associated with vibration and noise of retractable mirror assemblies, there remains an opportunity to optimize these assemblies and to further improve over the prior art.